From 3d5263ba673aa55ef8e5f762b1386242fabb2cf0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Ralf Grubenmann <ralf.grubenmann@sdsc.ethz.ch>
Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:14:06 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] only use coman init system for docker images

---
 coman/.config/config.toml  | 4 +++-
 coman/src/cscs/handlers.rs | 9 ++++++++-
 2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/coman/.config/config.toml b/coman/.config/config.toml
index 6cc00ad..a567773 100644
--- a/coman/.config/config.toml
+++ b/coman/.config/config.toml
@@ -21,12 +21,14 @@ current_platform = "HPC" # what platform to execute commands on (valid: HPC, ML
 #   environment_file: the path to the edf environment toml file in the cluster
 #   command: the command to run
 #   container_workdir: the working directory inside the container
+#   coman_squash: the path to the coman squash file
+#   coman_init: whether to use coman as an init system for the command. Needed for SSH/Portforwarding. Only work when using a docker container
 sbatch_script_template = """
 #!/bin/bash
 #SBATCH --job-name={{name}}
 #SBATCH --ntasks=1
 #SBATCH --time=10:00:00
-srun {% if environment_file %}--environment={{environment_file}}{% endif %} {% if coman_squash %}/coman/coman exec {% endif %}{{command}}
+srun {% if environment_file %}--environment={{environment_file}}{% endif %} {% if coman_init %}/coman/coman exec {% endif %}{{command}}
 """
 
 # the edf environment toml file template
diff --git a/coman/src/cscs/handlers.rs b/coman/src/cscs/handlers.rs
index adbcfed..bb37c7c 100644
--- a/coman/src/cscs/handlers.rs
+++ b/coman/src/cscs/handlers.rs
@@ -772,7 +772,11 @@ async fn handle_script(
     context.insert("environment_file", &environment_path.to_path_buf());
     context.insert("container_workdir", &workdir);
     if let Some(path) = coman_squash {
-        context.insert("coman_squash", &path);
+        context.insert("coman_squash", &path); // path to coman squash file on remote
+        // whether to use coman as an init system. Only do this if running an image
+        context.insert("coman_init", &options.image.is_some());
+    } else {
+        context.insert("coman_init", &false);
     }
     let script = tera.render("script.sh", &context)?;
     api_client
@@ -845,6 +849,9 @@ pub async fn cscs_job_start(
                 let image = image.try_into()?;
                 Some(image)
             } else {
+                println!(
+                    "Warning: No docker image specified (-i), functionality like SSH and port forwarding only works when running a docker image"
+                );
                 None
             };
             let image_meta = if let Some(docker_image) = docker_image {